| Kadaisi Vivasayi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release date poster | |
| Directed by | M. Manikandan |
| Written by | M. Manikandan |
| Produced by | M. Manikandan |
| Starring | Nallandi |
| Cinematography | M. Manikandan |
| Edited by | B. Ajithkumar |
| Music by | Santhosh Narayanan Richard Harvey |
Production company | Tribal Arts Production |
| Distributed by | Vijay Sethupathi Productions 7Cs Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Kadaisi Vivasayi (transl. The Last Farmer) is a 2022 IndianTamil-language drama film byM. Manikandan. It starsNallandi as an octogenarian farmer, and featuresVijay Sethupathi andYogi Babu in supporting roles.[1] Besides writing and directing, Manikandan produced the film and helmed the cinematography as well.[2]Kadaisi Vivasayi was released on 11 February 2022[3] and received widespread critical acclaim but ended up as a box office failure.[4] It won theBest Feature Film In Tamil,Special Mention for actorNallandi at the69th National Film Awards[5]
Mayandi is an eighty-year-oldfarmer living a frugal lifestyle in avillage nearUsilampatti. He talks very little and displays very little emotion. As there are no farmers in the village, the village tasks him with providing the symbolic firstgrain for the village temple's annual ceremony. The village's other farmers have sold their lands to financiers for future developmental projects. Mayandi plants a new batch of paddy in his field, and one day he finds a peacock and two peahens dead in his cropland. He considers them vehicles of his favourite god,Murugan and buries them in his field. A fellow villager sees him burying the birds. Soon, the police arrest Mayandi for killing apeacock, India'snational bird.
It reveals that some years before, someone killed peafowl in the village, and the villagers heckled the investigating police, and there were no witnesses. The police want to avenge their humiliation. They find a witness and file a case against Mayandi, who take him into judicial remand. He is then brought tocourt and states the facts to the magistrate. Mayandi explains that the witness only saw him bury the birds, not the act of killing them. She reprimands the police for filing a false case and orders them to submit a revised report. However, since the police filed aFirst Information Report(FIR) and filing a new FIR takes time, the judge orders Mayandi to spend 15 days in jail. Mayandi mentions his newly-planted crop that needs regular watering. The magistrate ordered the police constable to water the crop.
The police delay filing the changed report and neglect the field's care while Mayandi's stay in prison gets extended. Mayandi's relatives in the village take pity on the police constable (who is watering the cropland) and agree to take up that task themselves. When pests attack the crop, Mayandi advises them to control them with a traditional spray; however, it is laborious. Anagrochemical dealer in Mayandi's village instead recommends that Mayandi's relative buy apesticide. Mayandi escapes while waiting for his hearing and discovers the destroyed crop. The magistrate finds him in the field and tries to hasten a speedy release while ensuring support for a new crop to be planted and raised in time for the festival. The festival itself involvesAyyanar deities (includingKaruppu Sami), who are appeased by a coming together of all the caste groups in the society, including the village potter, who has nearly lost his livelihood.
There are two side stories. One is that of a villager, Ramaiah. Ramaiah has gone insane following the death of his love. At several points in the movie, they hint that he is the sane one in a world gone mad. Another is that of Thadikozhanthai and theelephant he bought after selling his land to a financial institution. There are also commentaries on hybrid seeds, industrial animal feed, and other high-input practices destroying sustenance farmers.
In mid-2016, it was first reported that Manikandan had started to write the script for his next project titledKadaisi Vivasayi and that it would be produced byEros International and commenced by the end of the year;[6] but for unknown reasons the filming got delayed. Manikandan later told that he visited over 100 villages to check out filming locations, which itself took over a year.[7] It was revealed that the director had approachedRajinikanth to play theprotagonist, but that the veteran actor had turned down the offer.[8] After auditioning several people, Manikandan then decided to cast a real farmer as he needed someone who knew farming and "coexists with nature" and choseNallandi, who he found inPerungamanallur, a village near Madurai;[9] Nallandi completed his portions but died shortly before the film's release.[10] In 2018, reports claimed thatVijay Sethupathi, who had previously collaborated with Manikandan on the filmAandavan Kattalai in 2016, was signed up,[11] with Manikandan clarifying that Sethupathi's role was small and that he would not promote the film as a Vijay Sethupathi film.[12] According to Manikandan, all the actors were from the villages. Except for Vijay Sethupathi andYogi Babu, who was selected for a small role, none of the other actors featured in the film had any prior acting experience.[9]
Filming ofKadaisi Vivasayi was officially confirmed during or about April 2018. The announcement said the plot centered on the importance ofagriculture, and that Vijay Sethupathi would play a farmer in acameo appearance .[13][14] It was also announced that Vijay Sethupathi had quietly completed his portions in the film in September 2018 while also busy with other films such asJunga andMaamanithan.[15] Vijay Sethupathi would later go on to claim that it was the most difficult role of his career.[16] The entire film was shot in 95 days[17] in and aroundUsilampatti.[18] Although reports suggested that the film may be released through theover-the-top media service platformSonyLIV,[19] it was later confirmed by the team that it would be theatrically released only.[20]
Kadaisi Vivasayi's score was composed bySanthosh Narayanan and English composerRichard Harvey. Initially Manikandan had signedIlaiyaraaja as the music director, who had also composed few songs and the background score.[21] According to reports, Manikandan was not satisfied with the music provided by Ilaiyaraaja and had asked him to rework it, which the latter refused, leading to Ilaiyaraaja being replaced by Santhosh Narayanan.[22] Ilaiyaraaja then lodged a complaint against the director with the Music Composer's Association;[23] it was later reported to have been resolved amicably.[24]
Santhosh Narayanan also produced and sang two songs for the film's soundtrack.
All lyrics are written by Arivu
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Enniko Er Pudichane" | Santhosh Narayanan | 04:15 |
| 2. | "Bambara Boomi" | Santhosh Narayanan | 03:14 |
| Total length: | 07:29 | ||
Kadaisi Vivasayi released to critical acclaim. Sudhir Srinivasan ofNew Indian Express gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 and wrote, "[...] at a time when farmer films are dime a dozen,Kadaisi Vivasaayi manages to stand out effortlessly".[25] SimilarlyThe Indian Express gave it also 4 out of 5, saying, "Vijay Sethupathi, Nallandi shine in Manikandan's meditation on life".[26]Deccan Herald gave it 4 out of 5 as well, describing it as a "terrific film on simple living" that "gives a humbling experience and is easily one of the year's best".[27] In his review forIANS, Manigandan K.R., too, gave the film 4 stars out of 5, deeming it a "gem in a league of its own" and added that it "manages to make its point in the most powerful and compelling manner that one never thought was possible even for films boasting of a big budget and a huge star cast".[28]The Hindu called it "an engaging combination of realism and surrealism" and "perhaps the most poignant" of Manikandan's films.[26]Baradwaj Rangan stated: "We feel the film because Manikandan lets the emotions build slowly and enter us like air", naming it a "film with utmost dignity" and a "beautiful example of how to talk about important things without giving boring lectures".[29]Hindustan Times cited thatKadaisi Vivasayi stood "testimonial to the fact that even a simple story, when told with unparalleled sensitivity, can leave a lasting impact".[30] Ashameera Aiyappan writing for Firstpost noted that the film felt like "a deep breath of air -- wilful and refreshing", while giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 5.[31] Although M. Suganth ofThe Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5, too, he noted that "for all the filmmaking delights that the film offers, something seems to be missing inKadaisi Vivasayi that stops it from being a truly great film", concluding that the film "never comes together as a whole".[32]
The film was widely considered as one of 2022's best Tamil films and listed in several top films' lists.[33][34][35][36] Other filmmakers includingMysskin,[37]Seeman[38] andH. Vinoth[39] have also appreciated the film. It was selected for the Big Screen Competition at the2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam and was one of the ten films that were screened at the 2022Chennai International Film Festival.[40]
| Award Ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 2023 | Best Director | M.Manikandan | Won | [citation needed] |
| Best Film | Kadaisi Vivasayi | Nominated | |||
| Best Production | Tribal Arts Production | ||||
| Best Cinematographer | M.Manikandan | ||||
| Best Character Artist – Female | Raichal Rabecca | ||||
| Critics' Choice Film Awards | Best Writing | M.Manikandan | Won | [41] | |
| Best Director | Won | [42] | |||
| Best Feature Film | Kadaisi Vivasayi | Won | [43] | ||
| 69th National Film Awards | Best Feature Film In Tamil | Kadaisi Vivasayi | Won | [5] | |
| Special Mention | Nallandi | Won | [5] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)